by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK - Up until that point when the bottom completely fell out for the New York Knicks in their 102-95 Game 1 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday afternoon, it was all passion and patience among their loyalists.

No fanbase is as discerning as the one that resides inside Madison Square Garden, but this was a day to appreciate the meaning of it all. This was their return to real relevance.

It had been 13 years since their Knicks played in the second round, back when those pesky Pacers had knocked them out of the 2000 Conference Finals. So they heckled the refs, championed Knicks great Patrick Ewing by chanting his name as he smiled from his courtside seat, gave a collective sigh when things didn't go their boys' way, and generally reveled in the affair with the sort of rose-colored glasses not typically found in these parts.

Until the end of the third quarter, anyways. The vintage Garden boos started because, well, the Knicks were finished.

After cutting the Pacers lead to 62-57, the Knicks missed 11 of their last 14 shots in the quarter while the Pacers just kept coming with the inside-out attack that was there for them throughout. It was Roy Hibbert and David West in the paint, Lance Stephenson and DJ Augustin slashing through the lane, and it still wasn't enough pressure applied in Indiana's view. After the boos killed the once-cheery mood and pushed Indiana's lead to 78-65, Augustin buried a three-pointer after an offensive rebound to end the quarter 81-65.

The Pacers were the league's top defensive team during the regular season, and they showed why yet again while holding the Knicks to 43.2% shooting and a manageable 36.8% from the three-point range (7 of 19) where New York is so dangerous.

"I was very proud of our guys for their determination and effort, particularly on the defensive end," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "We tried to play to our strengths. I thought Roy Hibbert was sensational around the rim. The rest of our guards came back to rebound. It was a strong defensive effort."

The Knicks were outplayed at almost every position, and that included the Pacers' Roy Hibbert (14 points, eight rebounds and five blocks) getting the best of Knicks center Tyson Chandler (four points, three rebounds and two blocks in 28 minutes).

"They funneled everything into the paint and they did a good job challenging shots," Knicks center Tyson Chandler said. "You never want to give up any games at home, especially the first game to start the series. We have to come out and bounce back."

Before Carmelo Anthony struggled on his 10-for-28 shooting night, there had been much chatter among the New York media types about which mystery voter picked him as the league's MVP and thus spoiled LeBron James' chances of being the unanimous pick. But Anthony may not have received an MVP vote from his own fans with the way he had played early in the third quarter.

After a George Hill three-pointer pushed the Pacers' lead to nine, Anthony drove right and was blocked by Hibbert, then had his off-target right baseline jumper contested by George in the following play that led to a West dunk and a 57-48 Indiana edge.

"They flat out played harder than we did today," said Anthony, who was just 6 of 17 from the field through three quarters. "They outplayed and outworked us today and stole one on our home court."

Anthony managed to get by George for a dunk moments later, but then came the fourth foul that put him back on the bench â?? an ill-advised reach on a George jumper near the free throw line midway through the third that led to him playing just four minutes in the period as he had hit just 6 of 17 shots at the time. He drew his fifth foul with 10:11 left in the fourth and scored 15 of his 27 points in the fourth, but the Knicks were never truly in it then. JR Smith, the sixth man of the year, was equally-awful, hitting just four of 15 shots for 17 points, 11 in the fourth.

The Knicks shot 69% when the Pacers Stephensen wasn't on the court, but 38% in the 39 minutes he was playing.

"Lance, the past three games, has been one of our best players," Indiana's Paul George said. "When he is playing at that level, we are a tough team."

Knicks point guard Raymond Felton ensured the Knicks got off to a good start, hitting five of his first six shots and scoring 12 of his 18 points in the first quarter as they led 27-22. They were beating the Pacers at their defensive-minded game early on, too, holding Indiana to 8 of 21 shooting as Hill and George started slow (2 of 10 combined) and Tyson Chandler had two blocks. But that didn't last long.

The Pacers led 52-46 at the half because the scripts returned to normal, with the Knicks being held to just 19 second-quarter points and continuing to get beat on the glass (22-13 for the half) while falling off defensively (11 of 16 shooting for the Pacers in the second). Anthony was off-target, hitting just 5 of 13 before the break and, against his norm, missing four times at the rim.

It was nothing new for Indiana to have George and West (10 first half points apiece) carrying so much of the load, but D.J. Augustin's scoring was something the Knicks didn't likely see coming. He scored 10 points as well, coming within one of his playoff high thus far after scoring in single digits in four of six games in the first round against Atlanta.